el día de los muertos

This weekend many Mexicans will celebrate el día de los muertos or Day of the Dead. This holiday dates back to the time of the Aztecs. The Aztecs celebrated the memories of their deceased loved ones by making their favorite foods and drinks. They honored their loved ones by making alters dedicated to those that had died.

People who celebrate el día de los muertos today have similar traditions. Sometimes families spend months preparing and saving for this holiday. Altars are made in homes and special foods, like pan de muerto (bread of the dead) and mole de pavo (turkey mole) are prepared.

People who celebrate this holiday believe that the spirits of their loved ones come back to visit them. It's a special time for them to let their family members know that even though they are dead they are missed and thought of often.

Que interesante, ¿no?

Click on the links below to learn more about the history or modern traditions of el día de los muertos.

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/daydeadindex.html

El tiempo

Los estudiantes del 8 are learning weather vocabulary. As el tiempo changes around us this fall, we'll be able to describe the weather cuándo hace frío.

Hace sol.

la tormenta

la lluvia

Está nublado.

La escritura

The 7th graders are working on their first examen de escritura (writing test). They are writing about la ropa that they wear in different places or at different events. No se olviden (don't forget)-this is a test grade so make sure that you do your best and spell everything correctly. Feel free to look up other clothing vocabulary that we didn't learn in class. Two online dictionaries that I use are: http://www.spanishdict.com/ and http://www.wordreference.com/. Here are a few words and phrases that might be helpful:

• sweatshirt-la sudadera
• flip-flops-las chanclas
• high heels/pumps-los tacones
• stripes-con rayas
• plaid-de cuadros

¡Buena suerte!

¡Qué diversión!

We had a great time on our trip to Washington DC last weekend. The weather was beautiful and we saw a lot of great sites. I hadn't been to Washington DC since I was in high school, so I paid attention and learned a lot on this trip. Thanks to the other teachers and the students for being so much fun to travel with!!

Have a great weekend!

¡A viajar!

Este fin de semana some of los estudiantes del 8o van a Washington DC. Y, ¡yo voy también! I'm excited for the opportunity to travel with the 8th grade students, I think we're going to have a great time. Maybe we'll practice some of our español while we're there!

Have a great fin de semana!

Los hispanos de los White Sox y de los Cubs

What an exciting fall-the White Sox and the Cubs made it to the post season! Both teams have several hispanic players who came to this country to play baseball. ¿Conoces a estos jugadores?

• Octavio Dotel es de la República Dominicana.
• Javier Vázquez es de Puerto Rico.
• Orlando Cabrera es de Colombia.
• Alexei Ramirez es de Cuba.
• Juan Uribe es de la República Dominicana.

• Carlos Marmól es de la República Dominicana.
• Carlos Zambrano es de Venezuela.
• Geovany Soto es de Puerto Rico.
• Henry Blanco es de Venezuela.
• Ronny Cedeno es de Venezuela.
• Aramis Ramírez es de la República Dominicana.
• Alfonso Soriano es de la República Dominicana.

¡Buena suerte a los dos equipos!